Bosnia and Herzegovina

Culture Name

Bosnian; Herzegovinan

Orientation

Identification.
The name "Bosnia" is derived from the Bosna River, which
cuts through the region. Herzegovina takes its name from the word
herceg,
which designated the duke who ruled the southern part of the region until
the Ottoman invasion in the fifteenth century. The two regions are
culturally indistinguishable and for much of their history have been
united under one government. Although cultural variations in Bosnia and
Herzegovina are minimal, cultural identity is currently extremely
divisive. The three main groups are Muslims (Bosniacs), Serbs, and Croats.
Before the recent civil war, many areas of the country had mixed
populations; now the population has become much more homogeneous in most
regions.

Location and Geography.
Bosnia is in southeastern Europe on the Balkan Peninsula, bordering
Slovenia to the northwest, Croatia to the north, and Serbia and Montenegro
to the south and southwest; it has a tiny coastline along the Adriatic
Sea. The land area is 19,741 square miles (51,129 square kilometers).
Herzegovina is the southern portion of the country; it is shaped like a
triangle whose tip (surrounded by Croatia and Yugoslavia) touches the
Adriatic. Northern Bosnia is characterized by plains and plateaus. The
central and southern regions are mountainous. The Dinaric Alps that cover
this area also extend southward into Serbia and Montenegro. These regions,
including the area around Sarajevo, the capital, are conducive to skiing
and other winter sports and before the civil war were a popular tourist
destination. Much of the land (39 percent) is forested; only 14 percent is
arable. Most of the farmland is in the northern part of the country.

The climate varies from cold winters and mild, rainy summers in the
mountains to milder winters and hot, dry summers in the rest of the
country and a more Mediterranean climate near the coast. The entire region
is vulnerable to severe earthquakes. Bosnia also suffers from air and
water pollution because of poorly regulated industrial production in the
years before the civil war.

Demography.
The population was 4,364,574 in 1991. A U.S. estimate of the population
in July 2000 was 3,835,777; however, that figure is not reliable as a
result of dislocations and deaths from military activity and ethnic
cleansing. In 1991, approximately 44 percent of the people were Bosniac,
31 percent were Serb, 17 percent were Croat, 5.5 percent were Yugoslav (of
mixed ethnicity), and 2.5 percent were of other ethnicities. Since that
time, the Bosniac population has declined and that of the Serbs has risen
because of ethnic cleansing by the Serbian army. (The terms
"Bosniac" and "Muslim" often are used
interchangeably; "Bosniac" refers more explicitly to an
ethnicity, to avoid confusion with the term "Muslim," which
refers to any follower of the Islamic faith.)

Since 1995, the country has been internally divided into a Bosniac/Croat
Federation, which controls 51 percent of the land and whose majority is
Bosniac and Croat, and a Serb Republic, which has the other 49 percent and
has a Serb majority. Herzegovina, which borders Croatia, has historically
had a Croat majority.

Linguistic Affiliation.
Croatian, Serbian, and Bosnian are virtually identical; the distinction
among them is a matter of identity politics. Serbians write their language
in the Cyrillic alphabet, whereas Croatian and Bosnian use the Latin
script. Turkish and Albanian are spoken by a small minority.

Symbolism.
The flag is blue, with a yellow isosceles triangle to the upper right and
seven five-pointed

Bosnia and Herzegovnia

white stars and two half stars along the hypotenuse of the triangle.

History and Ethnic Relations

Emergence of the Nation.
The first known inhabitants of the region were the Illyrians. The Romans
conquered the area in 167
B.C.E.
In 395
C.E.
, the Roman Empire was split into Byzantium in the east and the Western
Roman Empire in the west. The dividing line was the Drina River, which
today forms the border between Bosnia and Serbia. Bosnia took on a special
significance as the boundary region between the two empires.

The Slavs arrived in the Balkans around 600
C.E.
, migrating from the north. Bosnia changed hands numerous times. It first
gained independence from Serbia in 960, although the relationship with its
neighbor to the south continued to be negotiated.

Bosnia became part of the Hungarian Empire in the thirteenth century and
gained independence again in the early 1300s. Internal fighting continued,
however, until the Bosnian king Steven Tvrtko united the country. In 1376,
he declared himself ruler not just of Bosnia but of Serbia as well.

The Ottoman Empire began to attack the region in 1383, eventually
incorporating Bosnia as a Turkish province. During the almost four hundred
years in which the Ottomans dominated the area, Bosnians adopted many
elements of Turkish culture, including religion; the majority of the
people converted from Roman Catholicism or Eastern Orthodox Christianity
to Islam. Because of Bosnia's position on the border between the
Islamic power to the east and the Christian nations to the west, the Turks
held on to the area tenaciously, particularly as their empire began to
weaken in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. In the mid-nineteenth
century, Bosnians joined Slavs from Serbia and Croatia in an uprising
against the Turks. Austria-Hungary, with the aid of the Russians, took
advantage of the Turks' weakened position and invaded
Bosnia-Herzegovina, annexing the region in 1908. The Bosnians were bitter
at having repulsed the Turks only to be occupied by another outside force
but were powerless to repel the new rulers.

In 1914, a Bosnian Serb nationalist assassinated Austrian Archduke Franz
Ferdinand in Sarajevo, and Austria declared war on Serbia. World War I
spread throughout Europe, ending four years later in the defeat of
Austria-Hungary and its German allies. The Kingdom of the Serbs (Serbia,
Montenegro, Croatia, and Slovenia) was formed in 1918, and Bosnia was
annexed to the new nation. Dissension continued among the different
regions of the kingdom, and in an effort to establish unity King Alexander
I renamed the country Yugoslavia in 1929. The extreme measures he took,
which included abolishing the constitution, were largely unpopular, and
Alexander was assassinated in 1934 by Croatian nationalists.

In the 1930s, fascism began to claim many adherents in Croatia, fueled by
strong nationalist sentiments and in response to the Nazi movement in
Germany. In 1941, Yugoslavia was thrust into World War II when Germany and
Italy invaded the country. Thousands of people were killed, and Belgrade
was destroyed. Yugoslav troops resisted the invasion but fell after eleven
days of fighting. The Germans occupied the country, installing a puppet
government in Croatia. Croatian troops took part in the German program of
ethnic cleansing, killing thousands of Jews, Gypsies, Serbs, and members
of other ethnic groups. Two main resistance movements arose. The Chetniks
were Serbian nationalists; the Partisans, under the leadership of the
communist Josip Broz Tito, attempted to unite Yugoslavs of all
ethnicities. The two groups fought each other, which weakened them in
their struggle against the foreign powers. The Partisans managed to expel
the Germans only after the Allies offered their support to the group in
1943.

When the war ended in 1945, Tito declared himself president of Yugoslavia.
He won an election several months later, after outlawing opposing parties.
Bosnia-Herzegovina was granted the status of a republic in 1948.

Tito nationalized businesses and industry in a manner similar to the
Soviet system; however, Tito's Yugoslavia managed to maintain
autonomy from the Soviet Union. He ruled with an iron fist, outlawing free
speech and suppressing opposition to the regime. While ethnic and regional
conflicts continued among the six republics (Serbia, Bosnia-Herzegovina,
Croatia, Slovenia, Macedonia, and Montenegro), Tito suppressed them before
they became a threat to the unity of the country.

Tito died in 1980 and his government was replaced by another communist
regime. Power rotated within a state presidency whose members included one
representative of each of the six republics and two provinces. This system
contributed to growing political instability, as did food shortages,
economic hardship, and the example of crumbing regimes in other Eastern
European countries.

By the late 1980s, there was a growing desire in most of the republics for
more autonomy and democratization. In 1989, however, the nationalist
Slobodan Milosevic won the presidency in Serbia. Milosevic, with his
vision of a "Greater Serbia" free of all other ethnicities,
manipulated the media and played on Serbians' fears and nationalist
sentiments.

Other Yugoslav republics held their first free elections in 1990. A
nationalist party won in Croatia, and a Muslim party won in
Bosnia-Herzegovina. The republics of Slovenia and Croatia declared
independence in 1991. Because of its strong military and small population
of Serbs, Milosevic allowed Slovenia to secede with little resistance. The
Croatian declaration of independence, however, was met with a war that
lasted into 1992.

In Bosnia, the Muslim party united with the Bosnian Croats and, after a
public referendum, declared independence from Serbia in 1992. The Serbs in
the republic's parliament withdrew in protest,
setting up their own legislature. Bosnia's independence was
recognized internationally, and the Muslim president promised that Bosnian
Serbs would have equal rights. Those Serbs, however, supported by
Milosevic, did not agree to negotiations. The Serbian army forced the
Muslims out of northern and eastern Bosnia, the areas nearest to Serbia.
They used brutal tactics, destroying villages and terrorizing civilians.
Bosnians attempted to defend themselves but were overpowered by the
Serbians' superior military technology and equipment.

One of the tactics Serb forces used throughout the war was the systematic
rape of Bosnian women. Commanders often ordered their soldiers to rape
entire villages. This atrocity has left permanent scars on much of the
population.

In November 1992, the presidents of Serbia and Croatia decided to divide
Bosnia between them. This resulted in increased fighting between Croats
and Muslims as well as between Muslims and Serbs. In that month, six
thousand United Nations (UN) troops were deployed in Bosnia as
peacekeepers and to ensure the delivery of aid shipments. The UN troops
were powerless to act, however, and the atrocities continued.

Many cities were in a state of siege, including Sarajevo, Srebrenica, and
Gorazde. There were extreme shortages of food, water, fuel, and other
necessities. Those who chose to flee often ended up in refugee camps with
dreadful living conditions; the unlucky were sent to Serb-run
concentration camps where beatings, torture, and mass murder were common.

In 1993, the UN declared six "safe havens" in Bosnia where
fighting was supposed to cease and the population would be protected. This
policy proved ineffective, as war continued unabated in all six areas.
After a Serb attack on a Sarajevo market that resulted in the death of
sixty-eight civilians, the UN decided to step in more forcefully.

In August 1995 a peace conference was held in the United States, resulting
in the Dayton Peace Accords, an agreement that Bosnia-Herzegovina would
revert to the boundaries in place before the fighting began and that the
country would be divided into two parts: the Federation of Bosnia and
Herzegovina (run jointly by Muslims and Croats) and the Serb Republic of
Bosnia and Herzegovina. The agreement was signed in December, and NATO
forces were sent to maintain the peace. The NATO troops are still a
significant presence in Bosnia, with approximately thirty-four thousand in
the area. The peace is tenuous, however, and recent fighting between
Muslims and Serbs in nearby Kosovo has exacerbated ethnic tensions.

National Identity.
National identity for Bosnians is inextricably tied to ethnic and
religious identity. The majority of Bosnians are Muslim, and their culture
bears many traces of the Turkish civilization that predominated in the
region for centuries. Bosnian Muslims tend to identify themselves in
opposition to Serbia and its long-standing domination of the region.
Bosnian Serbs, who are primarily Eastern Orthodox and share a culture with
their Serb neighbors to the south, identify less as Bosnians and primarily
as Serbs. Croats, who are mostly Roman Catholic, distinguish themselves
from both Serbs and Bosnians. Before the civil war forced them into
separate camps, all three groups also identified strongly as Bosnian.

Ethnic Relations.
The entire Balkan region has historically been called the powder keg of
Europe because of volatile relations both among local groups and with
outside forces. Bosnia, however, has a long history of relatively peaceful
coexistence among its three main ethnic groups. Before the 1990s,
intermarriage was common, as were mixed communities. When Milosevic rose
to power in Yugoslavia in 1989, his extremist politics stirred latent
distrust among the ethnic groups. When Bosnia declared independence in
1992, his government began a campaign of "ethnic cleansing"
that has left millions dead, wounded, or homeless. While it is the Serbs,
with the backing of Milosevic, who have been responsible for most of the
atrocities, Croats also have persecuted Bosnian Muslims.

Urbanism, Architecture, and the Use of Space

Approximately 42 percent of the population lives in towns or cities.
Sarajevo, near the center of the country in a valley of the Dinaric Alps,
is the capital and largest city. Once a cultural center and tourist
destination (it was the site of the 1984 Winter Olympics), it has been
devastated by the civil war. Before the war, it was a vibrant,
cosmopolitan mixture of the old and the new, with skyscrapers and modern
buildings standing alongside ancient Turkish mosques and marketplaces.
Today many of these buildings are in rubble, and food and electricity are
in short supply. Despite its desperate situation, Sarajevo has taken in
many refugees from other parts of the country. Even amid the destruction,
however, there is evidence of Sarajevo's glorious past. The Turkish
Quarter boasts the Gazi

Men work in a field in Maglaj, during the Yugoslavian Civil War.
Most food must be imported because farming does not meet subsistence
needs.

Husrev-Bey mosque, which dates back to the sixteenth century. The
religious architecture is varied and impressive; in addition to mosques,
there are several Orthodox churches, a cathedral, and a Sephardic Jewish
synagogue. The city also has a history museum and a national art gallery.

Mostar, the largest city in the Herzegovina region, also has been
devastated by the civil war. Other major cities include Banja Luka,
Zenica, and Tuzla. Before the war, housing in the cities consisted
primarily of concrete apartment buildings. Many of those structures were
destroyed during the war, and despite efforts at rebuilding, many remain
unlivable. People have been forced into crowded living situations with
little privacy.

In rural areas, which are much less densely populated, the effects of war
have been less extreme. Most of those houses are small structures of stone
or wood. Before the war, the majority of them were equipped with
electricity and running water.

Food and Economy

Food in Daily Life.
Bosnian food has been influenced by both Turkish and Eastern European
cuisine. Grilled meat is popular, as are cabbage-based dishes.
Bosanski Ionac
is a cabbage and meat stew.
Cevapcici
are lamb sausages that often are eaten with a flat bread called
somun.
Pastries, both sweet and savory, are common;
burek
and
pida
(layered cheese or meat pies),
zeljanica
(spinach pie), and
sirnica
(cheese pie) are served as main dishes.
Baklava,
a Turkish pastry made of phyllo dough layered with nuts and honey, is a
popular dessert, as is an apple cake called
tufahije. Kefir,
a thin yogurt drink, is popular, as are Turkish coffee and a kind of tea
called
salep.
Homemade brandy, called
rakija,
is a popular alcoholic drink. Alcohol use is down since the rise in
Muslim influence, and in certain areas of the country drinking has been
prohibited.

Food Customs at Ceremonial Occasions.
For Bosnian Muslims, the end of Ramadan (a month of fasting from sunrise
to sunset) is celebrated with a large family meal and with Turkish-style
sweets and pastries. Both Catholics and Eastern Orthodox believers
celebrate Easter with special breads and elaborately decorated eggs.
Christmas is an occasion for special family meals among the Christian
population.

Basic Economy.
Bosnia is the second poorest republic of the former Yugoslavia. The
agricultural sector, which accounts for 19 percent of the gross domestic
product (GDP), does not produce enough

Carpets and wool rugs produced by artisans in Sarajevo.

to meet demand, and the country must import food. Industrial production
fell 80 percent between 1990 and 1995 because of the civil war, and while
it recovered somewhat between 1996 and 1998, the GDP is still
significantly lower than it was in 1990. The unemployment rate is between
35 and 40 percent. Bosnia receives large amounts of money in the form of
reconstruction assistance and humanitarian aid. In June 1998, a new
currency, the convertible mark, replaced the dinar, which had been
completely devalued as a result of inflation.

Land Tenure and Property.
Tito nationalized many of Yugoslavia's farms into collectives.
This proved unsuccessful, and he modified the system by giving farmers
more control over production. Today, many farms are privately owned. While
90 percent of the country's firms are private, the large government
conglomerates are still in place. This has hindered progress toward
privatization, as has widespread corruption.

Commercial Activities.
Crops produced for domestic sale include corn, barley, oats, wheat,
potatoes, and fruits. The war has caused severe shortages of food,
electricity, and other goods. There is an active black market on which
some otherwise unavailable goods can be bought for exorbitant prices.

Major Industries.
The main industries are mining (coal, iron ore, lead), vehicle assembly,
textiles, domestic appliances, oil refining, and military supplies. Much
of the production capacity has been damaged or shut down since the early
1990s. There is a negative growth rate of 5 to 10 percent in the
country's industries.

Trade.
The main imports are raw materials, petroleum-based fuels, and consumer
goods. The primary exports are machinery, clothing and footwear, and
chemicals. Other republics of the former Yugoslavia and Western European
nations are the main trading partners. During the war, Serbia and Croatia
placed strict restrictions on trade with Bosnia, further damaging the
economy.

Division of Labor.
Under communism, the composition of the workforce shifted from an
agricultural base to an industrial one. The more desirable jobs in
government often were obtained through connections. Today, as the economy
is beginning to recover from the civil war, jobs are difficult to come by
in many fields, and connections are still useful.

Social Stratification

Classes and Castes.
Before World War II, peasants formed the base of society, with a small
upper class composed of government workers, professionals, merchants, and
artisans and an even smaller middle class. Under communism, education,
party membership, and rapid industrialization offered possibilities for
upward mobility. The majority of the people had a comfortable lifestyle.
The civil war drastically decreased the overall standard of living, and
shortages and inflation have made necessary items unaffordable or
unavailable. This situation has created more extreme differences between
the rich and the poor, as those who have access to goods can hoard them
and sell them for exorbitant rates. In general, the war stripped even the
richest citizens of their wealth and left the majority of the population
destitute.

Symbols of Social Stratification.
Under Tito, Yugoslavia had a higher standard of living than did most
countries in Eastern Europe; it was not uncommon for people in the cities
to have cars, televisions, and other goods and appliances. The upper
classes and higher-echelon government workers had more possessions and a
higher standard of living. Today, luxuries of any sort are rare.

People generally dress in Western-style clothing. Muslim women can be
distinguished by their
attire; while they do not wear the full body covering common in other
Islamic countries, they usually cover their heads with scarves.
Traditional Serbian and Croatian costumes include caps, white blouses, and
elaborately embroidered vests; they can be distinguished by the type of
embroidery and other small variations. These outfits are worn only for
special occasions such as weddings and festivals.

Political Life

Government.
The legislature is bicameral. In the National House of Representatives,
or
Vijece Opcina,
two-thirds of the seats are designated for the Bosniac/Croat Federation
and one-third for the Serbian Republic; in the House of Peoples, or
Vijece Gradanstvo,
each ethnic group is guaranteed five seats. The presidency rotates every
eight months among members of the three groups. These three presidents are
elected by popular vote for four-year terms.

Leadership and Political Officials.
Since the war, politics has splintered along ethnic lines. More than
twenty political parties are represented in the government, most of them
identified as Bosnian Muslim, Serb, or Croat. Bosnians are currently
extremely wary of trusting a leader from a different ethnic group to
represent their interests.

Social Problems and Control.
The high rate of unemployment has led to an increase in crimes such as
petty theft and carjacking. Unexploded land mines throughout the country
are still a major concern. The Federation and the Republic have separate
legal systems with trial and appellate courts.

One of the primary concerns today is prosecuting war criminals. An
international war tribunal at the Hague has tried some perpetrators, but
many others remain at large, including Slobodan Milosevic.

Military Activity.
The Federation Army consists of separate Croatian and Bosniac elements.
The Bosniac Army (the official army of the Federation) consists of forty
thousand troops; the Croatians have sixteen thousand. The Army of the Serb
Republic is composed solely of Bosnian Serbs and numbers around thirty
thousand. Both federation and republican forces have air and air defense
components that are subordinate to ground forces.

A child playing while wearing a United Nations helmet. Many schools
were closed during the war, leaving children with no access to
education.

Social Welfare and Change Programs

Tito instituted a welfare system that provided for the poor, the elderly,
and the mentally and physically disabled. His government also guaranteed
women maternity leave and paid leave when their children were sick.

In independent Bosnia, the Muslim, Croat, and Serbian administrations
provide aid for their respective populations. In the 1990s, the majority
of the money for social services came from foreign aid organizations
rather than from the government.

Nongovernmental Organizations and Other Associations

A number of international humanitarian groups have provided aid to help
the country recover from the civil war. One of the largest of these groups
is the International Committee of the Red Cross, which, in addition to
providing aid and aid workers, investigated Serbian violations of the
Geneva Conventions during the war. Other active groups include Christian
Relief, World Vision, the International

A building with arched double doors in Mostar, the largest city in
the Herzegovina region. Mostar was badly damaged by the civil war.

Gender Roles and Statuses

Division of Labor by Gender.
Women are responsible for all domestic tasks, including cooking,
cleaning, and child rearing. Women who work outside the home generally
have lower-paying and lower-status jobs than men do. Since the economic
devastation of the civil war, men are more likely to occupy the few jobs
that are available, and more women have returned to the traditional roles
of housewife and mother. Women are more equally represented in agriculture
than they are in other fields, and the majority of elementary
schoolteachers are women.

The Relative Status of Women and Men.
Bosnia has a patriarchal tradition in which women are expected to be
subservient to men. Both the Eastern European and Islamic traditions have
contributed to this situation. Under Tito's administration, women
were given complete civil and political rights. Educational and lifestyle
opportunities have increased significantly since that time, although there
are still disparities.

Marriage, Family, and Kinship

Marriage.
Marriages are not arranged, and love matches are the norm. In 1991,
before the civil war, 40 percent of the marriages registered involved
ethnically mixed couples. Since that time, mixed marriages have become
extremely rare. Despite Muslim sanctioning of polygamy, the custom was
practiced in only one region of the country and currently is not practiced
at all. It used to be customary for a bride's parents to give the
couple a specially woven dowry rug containing the couple's initials
and the wedding date.

Domestic Unit.
The traditional domestic unit often includes parents, grandparents, and
young children. This pattern has been disrupted in many cases, as the war
forced thousands of people to flee their homes. Many were relocated to
refugee camps or other countries, and thousands more were sent to
concentration camps. Many mixed families have been torn apart by ethnic
hatred, as children and spouses are forced to choose between ethnic
affiliation and family ties.

Inheritance.
Traditionally, inheritance follows a system of primogeniture, passing
from the father

A scenic view of Mostar. The Bosna river, which flows through the
country, is part of the country name.

to the oldest son. Under communism it was legal for women to inherit
property.

Kin Groups.
As in the neighboring Slavic countries, Bosnians traditionally lived in
zadruga,
agricultural communities that ranged from two or three related nuclear
families to as many as a hundred. Those communities were patriarchal and
hierarchical in organization, with a male
gospodar
as the head. Most important decisions were made communally by the male
members. While zadruga no longer exist in their original form, a
person's extended family is still considered extremely important,
especially in rural areas.

Socialization

Infant Care.
Tito's government, which encouraged women to work outside the
home, established state-run day-care centers for young children.

Child Rearing and Education.
The current generation of children has witnessed unspeakable atrocities.
Children were a prime target of snipers, especially in Sarajevo. Survivors
suffer flashbacks, nightmares, and severe depression; in one survey, 90
percent of children surveyed in Sarajevo declared that they did not want
to live. The country will be dealing with the effect of the war on these
children for years.

Education is free and mandatory for children between the ages of seven and
fourteen. There are Muslim schools where students study the Koran and
Islamic law in addition to secular subjects and where boys and girls are
taught in separate classrooms.

The educational system has been hard hit by the war. Schools were common
targets of Serb mortar attacks, and many were forced to close. Some
makeshift schools were organized in homes, but many children were left
with no access to education. Since 1995, many schools have reopened.

Higher Education.
The country has universities at Sarajevo, Banja Luka, Tuzla, and Mostar.
After the civil war, the university in Mostar split into a Croat
university in the western part of the city and a Muslim university in the
eastern part.

Etiquette

Bosnians are known as a friendly, hospitable people. In Muslim houses, it
is traditional to remove one's shoes and put on a pair of slippers.
Kissing is a common form of greeting for both men and women. Three kisses
on alternating cheeks are customary.

Stone houses with terracotta roofs cover a hill in the town of
Lastovo on the island of Lastovo.

Visiting is a common pastime. When entering a home as a guest, one often
brings a small present. Hosts are expected to serve a meal or refreshment.

Religion

Religious Beliefs.
Forty percent of the population is Muslim, 31 percent is Eastern
Orthodox, 15 percent is Roman Catholic, and 4 percent is Protestant; 10
percent of the people follow other religions. Most of the population is
not particularly observant, but religion is an important aspect of
national identity. (Islam is associated with the Bosniacs, Eastern
Orthodox with the Serbs, and Catholicism with the Croatians.)

Icons, which are images representing Christ, angels, saints, and other
holy figures, hold an important place in Orthodox practice and are
considered a connection between the earthly and spiritual realms.

Religious Practitioners.
The central religious figures in Islam are called
muezzins,
scholars of the Koran who call the faithful to prayer. The Koran is seen
as the ultimate authority in the religion. In the Eastern Orthodox
religion, priests are the primary religious authorities; they are
permitted to marry. The Eastern Orthodox religion does not recognize the
authority of the Pope but follows a group of patriarchs who have equal
status.

Rituals and Holy Places.
Mosques are Muslim houses of worship. It is customary to remove
one's shoes before entering. The prayer hall has no pews or seats;
instead, worshipers kneel on prayer rugs. After Ramadan, people exchange
small gifts, visit friends, and have a large family meal.

Eastern Orthodox religious ceremonies are held in elaborate, beautifully
designed churches, many of which date back hundreds of years. Each family
has a patron saint who is honored once a year in a large celebration
called
Krsna Slava.
A candle is lit in the saint's honor, and special foods are
consumed. Christmas (observed 6 and 7 January in the Orthodox Church) is a
major holiday. Christmas Eve, called
Badnje Vece,
is celebrated with a large bonfire in the churchyard and the singing of
hymns. In addition to church services, Easter is celebrated by dying eggs
and performing traditional
kolo
dances.

Death and the Afterlife.
Christians and Muslims mourn the death of a loved one by dressing in
black and paying visits to the family of the deceased.

In the Eastern Orthodox tradition, funerals are large, elaborate
occasions. In the cemetery, a spread of salads and roasted meats is
presented in honor of the deceased; this is repeated a year after the
death, at which point the gravestone is placed in the ground. Gravestones
often bear photographs as well as inscriptions.

Medicine and Health Care

Tito's government significantly raised the standard of health,
eliminating diseases such as typhus, tuberculosis, and whooping cough.
More medical workers were trained, facilities were improved, and
educational campaigns raised the general awareness of the population
regarding health issues.

Many of the nation's health problems today stem from the
destruction caused by the civil war. The medical system has been hard hit;
facilities have been destroyed, and staffing and supplies are inadequate
to deal with the enormous number of casualties. Despite the health workers
and aid sent by charitable organizations, these problems continue to
plague the health care system and have left it unable to meet even the
basic medical needs of the population.

Secular Celebrations

The main secular holidays are New Year's Day, 1 January; Republic
Day, 9 January (25 November in the Federation); Independence Day, 1 March;
Day of the Army, 15 April; Labor Day, 1 May; and Victory Day, 4 May. There
is an annual Sarajevo Film Festival in late August and a Winter Festival
in February and March that is observed with theatrical and musical
performances.

The Arts and Humanities

Support for the Arts.
Under communism, artists who glorified the state received government
funding; most other expression was censored. Since that time, artists have
been given more creative freedom, although the religious establishment has
used its political power to influence the art that is produced. There is
virtually no money from public or private sources to support the arts.

Literature.
The national literary tradition can be traced back to epic stories that
were set to music and passed orally from one generation to the next. While
not as prevalent today, this art form was still widely practiced as
recently as the 1950s. Contemporary literature is concerned with history
and identity politics. The most famous Bosnian writer is Ivo Andric, a
Serbian Catholic who was raised in Bosnia and won the Nobel Prize in 1961
for the historical novel
Bridge over the Drina.
Mesa Selimovic, another novelist, was raised a Muslim but proclaimed
himself a Serbian writer. Much of the literature produced in recent years
has consisted of nonfiction accounts of the war. One such work is that of
Zlata Filipovic, a twelve-year old girl whose diary describes everyday
life in besieged Sarajevo.

Graphic Arts.
Sarajevo and Mostar are well known for the wool rugs and carpets their
artisans produce. Turkish influence is evident in the bright colors and
geometric designs. Calligraphy and metalwork also reflect traditional
Islamic styles. Silk embroidery is a traditional women's art.
Contemporary graphic artists have used bullets, shrapnel, broken glass,
ash, and other debris to make powerful statements.

The film director Emir Kusturica, a Bosnian with a Muslim background,
achieved international acclaim for his 1984 film
When Father Went Away on Business,
which was nominated for an Academy Award in the United States. Since the
civil war, Kusturica's work has been condemned by Muslim
authorities, and he has moved to Serbia.

Performance Arts.
Music in urban areas has strong echoes of the Turkish tradition. Singing
is accompanied by the
saz,
a type of lute. In rural areas, the music draws more on Slavic
influences.
Ravne pesme
is a "flat song" with little variation;
ganga
is a polyphonic song that sounds like shouting. The main instruments are
the
shargija
(similar to the saz), the
diple
(a droneless bagpipe), and a wooden flute. Epic poems are performed to
the accompaniment of a one-stringed fiddled called a
gusle. Sevdalinka
songs (from the Turkish word for love) are sentimental melodies usually
sung by young women. They are performed throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina
and have a strong cultural resonance in the entire country.

There are a variety of folk dances. Some are similar to the Serbian and
Croatian forms. The
nijemo kolo
is a circle dance performed to foot stamping rather than music. There are
also different line dances, some performed by men and others by women.
Rock 'n' roll and popular dancing are popular and in some
cases are replacing the more traditional forms.

The State of the Physical and Social Sciences

The physical and social sciences are virtually nonexistent since the civil
war, and there are no funds available for these pursuits. The National and
University Library was destroyed by Serbian bombings in 1992 and has not
been rebuilt.

Bibliography

Benedek, Wolfgang, ed.
Human Rights in Bosnia and Herzegovina after Dayton: From Theory to
Practice
1999.

User Contributions:

i love this article this is my first time readins this article but i found it very interesting i learned things about my country of bosnia that i didnt even know. please send me any new articles that u write or get to the e-mail above. thank you very much i realy like the article keep writing articles like this please i realy enjoyed it. :)

HELLO!
THANK YOU FOR THIS EXCELLENT ARTICLE!
I am from Azerbaijan-this country had bloody war too,as you know...
So thats why your article,helped me to know about military actions in other country.It would be excellent if you will write some day,about war of my country!Please if you will write something to may email,send me email of biljana peric, or another Bosnian!
I want to talk with Bosnian people about they war.
Thank you very much!

hello,
i would like to state that your article was very interesting, and i can see how you compared the three different types of people that live in Bosnia and Herzeovina. ( bosnians, serbs and croats. I would like to say that the country is doing well in terms of re-developing from what a devestation had occured, it may be a slow process but from when i visited there 6 years ago, it has come along way now. i am also pleased that you mentioned what these people did to this country, and how much they abused it. I do feel that you may not have mentioned enough about how terrible the torture camps were, and how they would give guns to little children and make them shoot people. i wanted to stress that those were the types of thigs that happened
thankyou

I have some new friends from Bosnia. The article seems to be spot-on from what I am told. I have so enjoyed our friendship(s) and want to thank you for such an informative, insightful and well-written article.

This is a very informative article. This is a very professional and unbiased site. I have visited various website, which were written either by angry Bosnian, Serb, or Croat, but this website is strictly information. Photos are the best. I must admit life in USA is good but I miss Bosnia :)

wow! this is amazing. I am a 6th grader and i live in the USA and we were assingned to do brochures on countrys in europe. me, not knowing much of the world, was aasigned bosnia and herzegovina....at first i didnt know how to pronounce it and i never ever ever heard of it.....ever. i searched up images and its beautiful. Georgous! Go bosnia and herzegovina. I thought it would be a small country that no one knew anout...i was wrong. this article is extremlyyyyyyy helpful....words cant even explain how thankful i am...thank u so mucch :))

Correction: It customary to greet another Bosnian with 2 alternating kisses on the cheeck and not "three kisses on alternating cheeks...". Giving 3 kisses on alternating cheecks is a "Serbian" greeting tradition, not a "Bosnian" one.

Greeting. The most remarkable thing about my mother is that for thirty years she served the family nothing but leftovers. The original meal has never been found. Help me! Looking for sites on: Gel nail photos. I found only this - benefits of gel nails. He is transmitted of adding to number ebony, and is presented in the irritation. The borg were neutralized to keep roughly though they were known into pin means from the anglo-saxon; the several appeal decades became four distances therefore never as on the doubt fatigue. With respect :rolleyes:, Catalin from Micronesia.

As students of a language college, we found this article very useful and interesting. However, we are shocked about some parts of this article - for instance, the social role of women compared to men. Thankyou for writing such a riveting read.

am an indian i studied article ,the country is most destroyed by
the wars,,and the education is low,,tat makes the country down,,,and the marraige relation is toworse...tat makes pity on this contry,,may god bless this country to come forward,,,,

Thank You for this article. I am from Bosnia myself, and am very happy to see others interested in my country as shown in your article and other comments. Your article was very unbiased, which I appreciated. Bosnia is a very beautiful country full of very sincere, hardworking people. Some of this information may be a little outdated, as Bosnia has gone through tremendous change since the genocide. Bosnians do kiss as a greeting, but only once on each cheek. Also, I would love to have seen more about traditional dance-a good dance group to watch on YouTube is KUD Kolo Waterloo, Iowa. Someone also asked to know more about Bosnian singers. Modern singers include: Ceca, Seka Aleksic, Alen Islamovic, Mile Kitic. The most popular folk singer I can think of is Hanka Paldum who sings sevdalinke. And Bijelo Dugme(white button) and Divlje Jagode(wild strawberries) are two very good Bosnian rock groups.

many thanks to the writers,a a well structured and beautiful words have been used to describe a beautiful country and its beautiful people.. personally i dont come from Bosnia but however i have had Bosnian friends i have found them to be the most hospitable trustworthy hardworking people with morals family values and respect for others. Hopefully sooon I will get married to one of my Bosnian wife with her traditional Hijab.

Interesting article, I must commend on a somewhat unbiased approach but think more could be added such as the beginings of war and what lead to the catastrophe. I have recently read Emir Kusturica mentioned in this article has adopted Christianity and the Serb ethnicity, could it be that these people are all the same and only seperated by religon such as the Irish for example? I also read that the Croat population is dwindling and being subtely pushed out especially in mixed areas I think there is a long way to go for these people but I am suprised that the two systems one country Dayton agreement is working well and quite possibly could be a solution afforded to the Croats.

Thank you for your unbiased, informative article. A good friend of mine is Bosnian-Muslim, a very caring person, with bright eyes and contagious smile. She has told me much about her home, which she says is, "small but mighty". Nicola Tesla was of Serbian heritage and I've often wondered if the great man would be considered Bosnian today. I recall the Winter Olympics in Sarajevo, 1984. It is a terrible realization that such a beautiful place could be destroyed by war. Everyone looses in war.

This is a great article it enlighten me about the history of the country. I've never been to Bosnia but planning to visit soon as I have a very good friend who witnessed the war in her country at a very young age but her outlook in life didn't change. despite of my friend experience of war she's very loving, caring, trustworthy, friendly person. most of the thing which is written here is the same story which I heard from my friend Vanja Vrhovac... upon hearing and learning their history it break my heart as my country was also a victim of war...

I have to say I'm surprised this was made so concisely, by this meaning, that even though the article is long enough, it is neither too generalizing, nor does it create an intellectual void with mismatches and inconclusive «what is culture?»
Next time someone will ask me about my country more specifically, I'll send them over here.
Zdravo!

A very interesting and informative article. I am over 50 and I remember the war being reported on the news, but I never fully understood why it was happening. This article has helped me immensely. To all victims of the war, irrespective of their religion, ethnicity, political and cultural beliefs, I wish peace, harmony and security.
Nigel, United Kingdom

This is such a amazing article. I am Bosnian and I live there but my parents work with an American organization CrossWorld. I am 15 years old but my parents have lived in Bosnia during war and I know how hard life was for them. I also know what most of the people think of Bosnia ( because lots of people from CrossWorld come here and live woth Bosnian familys). And I sometime I am mad cuz what they think of Bosnia is wrong. But with this article you did great job showing ppl what Bosnia is really about. And I would like to say that Ceca, Mile Kitic are NOT Bosnian singers.
If there are any people with last name Gradjan, please contact me. I would like to find out more about my family history. Or Kunic form Jajce.
xx N

I find it frustrating when Bosnia is associated with Muslim religion. My dad is Bosnian and I have been going to Bosnia since I was little (live in Canada). It is not something that is practiced so I don't understand why they are still associated with being Muslim. They don't wear headscarves, or follow any of the rules of the religion. Ex. No smoking, or drinking (all the old people love their vodka and whiskey). I think it's time to stop associating Bosnians with Islamic religion. I find that it is something that was forced upon them hundreds of years ago.

This is terrific article! Very informative, and unbiased. :)
I like reading about different countries, their culture, tradition, everything about it. I was quite intrigued about the Slavic nations, Bosnia in particular. This article has quenched my thirst to know about this country.

Good, deatailed article, but little biased (placing to much blame on the Serbian side). It's unfortunate what happened to former Yugoslavia and everybody knows that Bosnia paid the highest price, including all ethnic groups. One might argue that Muslims suffered most, but we should not forget that Croats and Serbs are not considered war winners in any way and they were subjects to atrocities as well. I need to say that I miss former Yugoslavia as a whole, and I am not particularly happy with the politics of the new established countries; to much coruption and not many politicians present peoples interests. It would be good for all people from former Yugoslavia not to forget, but to forgive whatever happened between 1990 and 2005, otherwise the future will not be rosy,
GOD be with you all,
Understanding

I loved the article. I have learned a lot about the values of my country. We maybe poor economically, but we are rich in culture. Something I am going to cherish and one more thing I am proud to be bosnian...

Great Article and Information is almost all there. I'm Bosnian by Birth and I have Survived Concentration Camps in Omarska and Manjaca during the War in Bosnia 1992. It's true that people need to forgive for what happened in order for life to coexist. It is also important that historically this Genocide of Bosnian people is written and studied is schools in order to understand it.

The Pain, Damage and Loss caused by this war will last forever for some people, while others will not know about it or want to know about it. Most articles about the War in Bosnia are so focused on defining ethnic groups and religious differences. One might say the reason for War is there,- it is so easy to understand it now.

Before all, the question is what kind of a Human being is capable of taking another Human being's life and to do it in such way that no horror story can be compared with. What is is about the World we are living in and being so messed up all the time.

This War like many others can not be forgotten. Bosnian People have been Scared, influenced and dominated for centuries. One of the reasons for this, is that we are and always have been People of piece. People who believe in simple life. Our only history is the Greatness of our Families. With all the greed, hunger for wars and dominance. Perhaps we never had that chance to prove ourself s.

Histories in this World are written by the Strongest and True Lived and experienced by Weakest.

I must admit that this is a very good article. Reading it has awaken many memories from such tragical times. As I call myself 'war child' I have experienced many many horrible things during the war from 1992. People around the world should be informed and educated on these incidents especially the youth today, who take many things in life for granted.
There are certain things mentioned in the article that I personally do not agree with such as 3 kisses for greeting (that's not Bosnian way, we kiss once in each cheek) and also musicians mentioned are not Bosnians. Bosnian musicians and some of the legends are Halid Beslic, Dino Merlin, Hanka Paldum, Safet Isovic etc.
As great as the article is, one can not understand the full tradegy, emotions, feelings unless you have been through it.

Thanks for precise article. i might be living practically in other corner of the world. had not even heard of Bosnia until a few years ago until the newspapers here mentioned it for all the notorious reasons. i studied it, watched documentaries and tried to understand what happened and why it happened. my heart ached, still aches and will continue to ache for the people of Bosnia. however there is one thing that i didn't understand which is that when all the ethnic groups were so well integrated with little or no difference at all why were specially Muslims targeted when they weren't different other ethnic groups. please anyone from Bosnia provide an answer.it will help me to get to the core of the issue so that i can write in local magazines about it as people here are less informed and they need to be.
Thanks and Regards
Peace